Chapter 284 Schemes in the Dark
"What is Jiang Mi anyway? She's just a country bumpkin, yet she dares to compare herself to Consort Jing!"
Another girl said angrily.
Liu Zijun's smug smile froze instantly, and her voice turned cold: "What did you say? That Jiang Mi dares to compare herself to my aunt? Who told you that?"
Zhao Zhilan looked like she had said something wrong and quickly covered her mouth: "Oh dear, Sister Liu, don't be angry. I just overheard someone talking about it. Apparently, someone said that Jiang Mi is so beautiful that she can be compared to Consort Jing. I scolded that person. What kind of eyes do they have? How can someone like Jiang Mi compare to Consort Jing?"
Liu Zijun's face was very ugly. She glared at Zhao Zhilan and said, "You said that on purpose, didn't you? Who is that Jiang Mi? Why do so many people know her? She's just a country woman. How many people in the capital know her? Zhao Zhilan, if you dare to scheme against me, don't expect me to broaden your horizons in the future."
Seeing that her little scheme had been discovered, Zhao Zhilan bit her lip, unwilling to admit that she had lied: "I didn't, how could I dare? Besides, Sister Liu is so good to me, how could I do such a thing? I really heard it. Although Jiang Mi doesn't have much status, isn't it enough that Huo Ran likes her?"
Liu Zijun's face darkened. She couldn't stand hearing people say who Huo Ran liked. Every time she heard such words, she felt as if her heart had been ripped out.
Zhao Zhilan naturally knew where Liu Zijun's sore spot was; only by speaking harshly would Liu Zijun take action against Jiang Mi.
"Hmph, someone of her status isn't even worthy of washing Huo Ran's feet. Even if she marries Huo Ran in the future, she'll just be a lowly concubine. With her status, what's the difference between her and an ant? My mother is right. Someone of my status doesn't need to compete with any woman for my affections. They can't compare to me at all."
Zhao Zhilan lowered her eyes slightly. This was what she envied most about Liu Zijun. If only she could have such good fortune—the status of the prime minister's legitimate daughter, who wouldn't want that?
Manager Liu simply stood there quietly listening to the conversation, secretly making a mental note of what Liu Zijun was saying. She told herself to forget about the woman from earlier. Although she was also jealous of Jiang Mi's beauty, what good was being beautiful if she was still someone's concubine?
"I heard that your store has a new gardenia-scented soap recently. Can I take a look?"
Manager Liu smiled faintly and took out a few boxes from inside: "These are some of the newest products we've made recently. Not only do we have gardenia scent, but we also have lavender scent, and this one has a grassy scent. You ladies can all try them."
Liu Zijun and the others were immediately drawn to the new soaps. Zhao Zhilan curiously sniffed the grassy scent: "Isn't it just the smell of grass? Why is this scent placed here? Isn't this the kind of scent you can smell everywhere in the countryside?"
Manager Liu said with a smile, "What this young lady said is very true. The smell of grass can be smelled in the countryside and even outside our city, but it is very rare to make it into a fragrance. Moreover, this kind of fragrance is very fresh and elegant, which is very unique. Compared to any floral fragrance, it can be remembered immediately, and the smell is also very refreshing."
Indeed, the scent was refreshing and invigorating, which Liu Zijun liked. She immediately decided to buy it: "This is it. How many do you have in total? I'll buy them all. I'll look at the rest later."
Manager Liu still smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Liu, we only sell one of these soaps to each person. We're worried that if they're all bought up, other people won't be able to use them. Our manager wants everyone to be able to experience the fragrance, so we recently came up with this rule."
"What kind of bullshit rules are these? I have money and I can't buy things?" Liu Zijun was furious. Why is everything going wrong lately? Even buying something is restricted. When did I become unable to spend my money?
Manager Liu guessed that Liu Zijun would get angry and throw a tantrum, but he remained calm and unhurried: "Miss Liu, it's not that I don't want to sell to you, but these things have already been bought up by important people. This is the last one left. You see, it doesn't matter who I sell to, so why should I offend such an important person as you when I can make money?"
Upon hearing the word "noble lady," Liu Zijun roughly guessed that it referred to someone from the palace. Regardless of who it was, she couldn't afford to offend them, so she could only endure it. Although this was the only one left, being able to use the same thing as a noble lady in the palace was enough for her to show off.
Just as Liu Zijun was about to say she wanted it, someone suddenly came in and whispered a few words in Manager Liu's ear. Then Manager Liu gave Liu Zijun a pitying look and put away the grass-scented soap.
Seeing that something was wrong, Liu Zijun quickly asked, "What are you doing? I'm about to have it."
Manager Liu said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Miss Liu, a distinguished guest just came by and said he wanted to buy this soap, so... perhaps you could come back another time."
Liu Zijun immediately became displeased: "What are you doing? I was the one who said it first, how come you're going to sell it to someone else in the blink of an eye?"
Manager Liu shrugged helplessly: "It's not that I'm unwilling to sell to you, but you hadn't decided what you wanted to buy just now. If you had been more decisive, this soap would be yours. Why don't you look at something else? I'll go pack some things for my esteemed guest now."
Liu Zijun was so angry that her face turned red. She felt extremely embarrassed in front of Zhao Zhilan. There was nothing she couldn't get.
"I want to see who's really going to try and take this from me."
Liu Zijun stormed outside, only to see a familiar face. She exclaimed in shock, "Eunuch Zhang?"
Eunuch Zhang recognized Liu Zijun and quickly said politely, "So it's Miss Liu! What a coincidence to run into you here."
Eunuch Zhang was a man close to the Emperor. Liu Zijun had only met Eunuch Zhang twice at her aunt's place. She immediately lost her haughty air and said politely, "So you're here to buy soap too?"
Eunuch Zhang laughed and said, "Yes, everyone is using scented soap now, and I am no exception. However, this time I bought it for the Emperor to try. The Empress Dowager recommended this scent to the Emperor, so I came out of the palace to buy it."
Liu Zijun didn't dare to compete with the Emperor for something, so she could only accept her bad luck: "It's quite nice, I'm using it too, there's also a sandalwood scented one, maybe the Emperor will like it too."
Eunuch Zhang nodded: "The Empress Dowager likes it very much and has been using it all along."
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